By Sarah Currie-Halpern
In celebration of Earth Month, and all year around, we are eager to help others reduce the amount of junk mail they get, helping reduce the production of unnecessary paper and the widespread cutting of trees, particularly old growth trees. Although a lot of paper now contains recycled content, many catalogs, mailers and junk mail pieces are produced from virgin paper. Up to 100 million trees are cut down every year to print junk mail, according to the Sierra Club. According to the Center for Development of Recycling at San Jose State University, an American adult receives 41 pounds of junk mail a year. To produce this much paper requires cutting down somewhere between 80 million and 100 million trees annually. If left standing, these trees would absorb 1.7 million tons of CO2 a year.
Looking to do just one thing this year to reduce your footprint? Opt out of all of your unwanted junk mail using the links below. These actions will help reduce your personal and/or family, carbon footprint.
What are the options when it comes to Opting out of Junk Mail?
Marketing mailers- DMA Choice will help you opt out of promotional mailers but there’s a hitch, a $5 processing fee (well worth it if you ask me!) helps them cover the cost of this service. Here is their disclaimer:
This service will not eliminate all promotional mail. It does not apply to promotional mail from companies or organizations that consumers have an existing business relationship. It also does not apply to local retailers, restaurants, and political organizations. You should expect to see a major reduction in the overall volume of prospect promotional offers received. Please note that ANA is not the source of consumer names for marketing purposes. This opt-in mail suppression service is a tool to assist consumers in managing their marketing offers.
Opt out here: https://www.dmachoice.org/register.php
2. Credit card and insurance offers- OptOutPrescreen.com will help you opt out of credit card and insurance offers mailed to you, permanently. This process is slower because you must fill out the form online then mail it in to a combined address serving the Consumer Credit Reporting Companies, Equifax, Experian, Innovis and TransUnion. There is no fee to take advantage of this service.
3. Catalogs- Catalogchoice.org is a great service for opting out of catalogs. It’s quick, easy and free to sign up, but you do need to enter each catalog individually. If your partner receives a catalog in their name and you receive another copy of it in your name, you will need to opt out of the catalog two times- one opt out entry for each person receiving the catalog. I have been participating in Catalog Choice for many years and have noticed a dramatic drop in the number of catalogs I receive over time. I estimate that I used to recieve 5- 10 catalogs a week, because of entering them into Catalog Choice I now receive 5 or so a month and I continue to opt out of these.
4. Coupons- Opt out of those pesky coupon packets you never wanted once and for all! There are a few different marketing lists you will need to opt out of to reduce the bulk of coupons and flyers, but once you click on these links its quick, easy and free to opt out: https://mspark.com/list-removal/ https://www.valpak.com/remove-address https://www.save.com/mailing/delivery-options
I recently opted out of the marketing mailers, credit card and insurance offers, and coupon links listed above, and it took me a total of 10 minutes! Do not hesitate to opt out of your unwanted Junk Mail today, our forests and future generations will greatly appreciate it!!
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